Friday 1 September 2017

If you want to be a politician

is there really anything wrong with having to prove that you are not the citizen of another country or that you do not have dual citizenship?
Even our Constitutional lawyers are saying that sec 44 of our Downunder Constitution is "out of date". They say that, in the modern world, many people are dual citizens and that it should no longer matter if they are and they want to run for office as a politician.
I disagree. If you want to represent your country, particularly if you want to lead it, then you need to show loyalty towards it. Your nationality needs to be without doubt. 
The leader of the Opposition in our national parliament is refusing to produce proof that he is not a dual citizen. It is unlikely that he is but he needs to show he is not. He is almost certainly refusing to do it because that would put increased pressure on other politicians on his side to do the same - and some of them may have a problem proving they are not dual citizens. There is one particularly high profile one who has refused to produce the necessary documents even  though she has been very active in pursuing the other side over the same issue. Yes, she is probably a legitimate member of the Senate but it is not a good look.
All this comes at a time when this state is set to lose a seat in the federal parliament even while parliament will grow by another seat. It's hardly surprising. The state is not exactly expanding at a rapid rate. Unemployment is much too high, even if the "Steel-town" is set to be saved by someone from abroad. 
We need strong representation. With a population of 1.7m our federal MPs need to represent at least 150,000 people each - some will represent more than that. It's a big task. 
It's a task which requires loyalty and commitment - and people who want to do the job need to be able to show it. 
Changing sec 44 of the Constitution would require a referendum - and it would need to be passed by a majority of people in a majority of the states. History shows Downunderites aren't keen on changes to the Constitution. Any change could be quite a while in coming.

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